Fresh designs that include robot faces and Ganesha prove these are not your grandmother’s cameos…

Carved from stone, shell, coral, or mother-of-pearl, cameos date to 18th-century Naples, where a community of artisans began carving the Greco-Roman–inspired portraits, eventually devoting an entire school (L’Istituto Statale d’Arte di Torre del Greco) to the craft. Today, a handful of contemporary designers are reimagining the centuries-old accessory using fresh materials and modern subject matter.